Happy Birthday: Alma Thomas Would Have Been 130 Today, New Exhibitions, Film, Books, & More Celebrate the Pioneering Artist
Alma Thomas at the Whitney Museum in 1972 | Smithsonian Archives of American Art TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY OF FALL and the 130th anniversary of the birth of Alma Thomas (1891-1978), an occasion for celebration. The pioneering artist known for her vibrant and rhythmic abstract paintings was born Sept. 22, 1891. Inspired...
Latest News in Black Art: Theo Tyson Appointed Fashion Curator at MFA Boston, Bisa Butler Talks to CBS, Esteban Jefferson Now Repped by 303 Gallery & More
Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture Curator theo tyson. | Photo by Frances Neyra Claudio Appointments The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA) appointed theo tyson (above) Penny Vinik Curator of Fashion Arts. She previously served as the Polly Thayer...
Latest News in Black Art: Nick Cave’s Soundsuits are Dancing in New York City Subway, Tavares Strachan Joined Perrotin Gallery, Freedmen’s Bureau Records & More
Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture Tavares Strachan in his New York studio. | Photo by Maegan Gindi Representation Perrotin announced its co-representation of interdisciplinary artist Tavares Strachan. The gallery, which has locations in New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Seoul,...
Latest News in Black Art: Lauren Halsey’s Summaeverythang Covers Artforum, Tyler Shine Joins Warhol Museum, Destination Crenshaw to Commission 100 Artists, Plus Theaster Gates, Derrick Adams & More
Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture Artforum, September 2021 | Lauren Halsey’s Summaeverythang Community Center: Thinking about change in the museum field and what the next generation of art institutions looks like, Thelma Golden cited a few artist-created projects, including Lauren...
American Folk Art Museum Receives 40 Works From Parsons Collection, Gift Includes Horace Pippin, Bill Traylor, Elijah Pierce, and Clementine Hunter
FOUNDED IN 1961, the American Folk Art Museum (AFAM) is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. In honor of the occasion, the New York City museum announced a gift of 40 works of art from Laura Parsons, a longstanding trustee of the museum, and her husband Richard D. Parsons. The gift includes works by...
Latest News in Black Art: Valerie Cassel Oliver and Lowery Sims Headline Armory Show Curatorial Summit, Sadé Ayorinde Named Fellow at American Folk Art Museum, Beyoncé’s Problematic Tiffany Diamond
Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture Left, VMFA Curator Valerie Cassel Oliver is chairing the Armory Show’s 2021 Curatorial Leadership Summit. Right, Lowery Stokes Sims recently co-curated the traveling retrospective “Art & Race Matters: The Career of Robert Colescott.” Her current...
Liz Andrews is New Executive Director of Spelman College Museum of Fine Art in Atlanta, Only U.S. Museum Dedicated to Art Created by Black Women
IN ATLANTA, the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art named Liz Andrews executive director. Andrews is an artist, curator, and museum professional who prides herself on working at the intersection of art and social justice. She was serving as executive administrator of the director’s office at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)...
Latest News in Black Art: Curator Vivian Crockett Joins New Museum, Smithsonian Tackles Race, Mabel O. Wilson Wins Building Museum Prize, Beyoncé and Jay-Z Star in Tiffany Campaign With Basquiat Painting
Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture Scholar and Curator Vivian Crockett. | Photo by Ciara Elle Bryant Appointments The New Museum in New York City announced the appointment of Vivian Crockett as curator. A Brazilian American scholar and curator, Crockett...
Jane’a Johnson Has Been Appointed Artistic Director at Foam, the Amsterdam Museum is ‘All About Photography’
FOAM FOTOGRAFIEMUSEUM AMSTERDAM named Jane’a Johnson artistic director. Johnson is joining Foam from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where she is an assistant professor of Theory of Art + Design and a research fellow at the Center for Social Equity and Inclusion (SEI). Johnson officially joins Foam on Oct. 1. “We are thrilled...
Saint Louis Art Museum Announces New Romare Bearden Fellows and Expansion of Longstanding Program Designed to Train Museum Professionals and Diversify Field
THE SAINT LOUIS ART MUSEUM (SLAM) named Shaka Myrick and Delyn Stephenson Romare Bearden Fellows and announced the institution is doubling the capacity of the program. The Romare Bearden Graduate Museum Fellowship is dedicated to diversifying the museum field. African Americans and people of color have historically been underrepresented on museum staffs. Founded in...
Latest News in Black Art: Pamela Council Now Repped by Denny Dimin Gallery, Kehinde Wiley Designed an Amex Card, $28.4 Million in NEH Grants Announced
Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture A month after Pamela Council’s first solo exhibition opens at Denny Dimin Gallery in September, the artist is installing a massive fountain in Times Square. Council is holding a model of the public art work....
Painter Peter Williams, Who ‘Was Not Afraid to Poignantly Portray the Truths of Contemporary Society,’ Has Died. He Was 69
Painter Peter Williams in his studio in 2018. | Courtesy Luis De Jesus Los Angeles ARTIST AND EDUCATOR Peter Williams (1952-2021) has died. He was 69. A fantastic painter and storyteller, his use of bold and intense color was equally matched by his candid and thoughtful insights about his own experiences and the realities...
New Acquisitions: Pérez Art Museum Miami Adds 13 Works to Collection, Diverse Slate of Artists Includes Kenturah Davis, Bisa Butler, Karon Davis, Coco Fusco, and Sonia Gomes
“Bobby Seale and The People’s Free Food Program” (2020-21) by Karon Davis A LIFE-SIZED SCULPTURE of Bobby Seale surrounded by a sea of grocery bags, pays tribute to the Black Panther Party’s celebrated, but oft-forgotten, program designed to combat food insecurity in the 1970s. A major installation by Los Angeles artist Karon Davis, “Bobby...
National Trust Grant Will Help Preserve 1943 Charles White Mural at Hampton University, Part of $3 Million Investment to Save Black History at 40 Sites Across United States
ONLY ONE MURAL by Charles White (1918-1979) was painted directly on a wall, rather than canvas. “The Contribution of the Negro to Democracy in America” was created at Hampton Institute (now University) in 1943. Crispus Attucks, Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Nat Turner, Denmark Vesey, and Booker T. Washington are all represented in...
Washington Plans Citywide Celebration of Pioneering Artist Alma Thomas, First Lady Michelle Obama Opening Major Symposium
WASHINGTON, D.C., is gearing up for a citywide celebration of artist Alma Thomas (1891-1978) this fall. Honoring her contributions to the city’s cultural heritage, the events coincide with the traveling exhibition “Alma Thomas: Everything is Beautiful,” opening Oct. 30 at The Phillips Collection. Institutions throughout Washington are participating in the celebration, including the National...
Latest News in Black Art: Rashid Johnson is Incoming Board Chair at Performa, New Representation for Brazilian Artist Elian Almeida, Fast Company Recognizes Destinee Ross-Sutton, Mabel O. Wilson & More
Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture Artist Rashid Johnson. | Photo by Chris Sorensen Appointments Artist Rashid Johnson will be the next chair of the board of directors at Performa, the New York City organization “dedicated to live interdisciplinary performance...
